Rubber heel



June 12,1923. 1,458,446- I c. w. SHAEFFER RUBBER HEEL Filed April 29 1921 1 N VEN TOR.

C24 FENCE Mffi /AEFFER A TT ORNE Y.

Patented June is, rare.

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Application filecl April as, 1921. erial Ito. 465,480.

To all'wkomit may concern:

Be it known that l, CLARENCE W.

SHAEFFER a citizen of the United States, residing at @hieago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rubber Heels, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in rubber heels, and more particularly to pneumatic rubber heels.

It is an object of the invention to provide a rubber heel which is of simple construetion, exceedingly eficient in use and capable of adhering to the surface on which it rests so as to prevent slipping especially in moist weather.

A. further object aims at providing a rubber heel, in which the suction efi'ect is obtained by coring out the bottom deep enough to simulate the action of a suction cap, so that strong adherence of the heel to a surface is insured.

I Another object constitutes the provision of an air chamber in the heel for the purpose of increasing the resiliency thereof.

A still further object aims at providing the air chamber and the suction chamber in such coacting relation that the two chamhers contribute to eifect a practical satisfactorily acting resilient rubber heel, which by virtue of such actions has a long life, and no diminution in efiectiveness during use.

It is also an object to provide a tread surface which is of less area than the bottom of the heel, and which tread surrounds the suction chamber, and is subjacent to air chamber, so that upon impact of the tread surface on the ground the suction chamber and the air chamber are called into operation, the former to cause adherence of the heel to the ground. the latter to absorb the impact and thus reduce the wear of the tread surface.

With these and other objects in view which willappear as the description proceeds, the invention, then consists in the novel construction ofla rubber heel, as described in the specifidation, particularly pointed out in the claims andillustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which= Fig. 1 is an illustration of a shoe to which the invention has been applied.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the improved heel.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view.

Fig. l is a section on line 4.4: of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a section through a modification.

Referring to the drawin 10 designates a co shoe having the improve heel 11 secured thereto in any approved or preferred manner. 'lhe heel is constructed to provide a suction cup at the bottom, and an air chamher at the top, said chambers being in such relative arrangement that both coact to meet the most stringent requirements as to durability, resiliency and lack of slipping upon wet ground. To this end the bottom face 12 is formed with a bead 13 substantially to equidistant from the perimeter of the bottom face, so that the bead constitutes the tread surface of the heel. The head 13 surrounds a cored out portion 14: in the heel,

which cavity is of considerable depth and constitutes a suction chamber to cause adherence between the heel and the ground. The fact of providing a tread in the form of a bead enclosing a suction chamber insures positive suction action and good adherence between the heel and the ground.

The top surface 15 of the heel has a slanting portion 16 from the perimeter to a head 17, which is closer to the perimeter than the tread surface 13. The bead 17 is equidistant from the perimeter and surrounds a chamber 18 which serves as an air spring to absorb shocks and jolts. The bottom'of the chamber is convex as appears in the sectional views, and this form is caused by the concavity of the suction chamber bottom.

Attention is called to the fact that the tread surface 13 is subjacent the air chamber'18, and underneath a deep portion thereof, so that impacts and jars are effectively chamber remains practically unaltered during theentire use of the heel. The slanting portion 16 furthermore establishes a suction engagement between the top surface of the heel and the shoe lift to WlllCh it is applied.

The heel is equipped with the usual perfora- 1 tions 20, extending approximately half way through the heel for the insertion of nails toseeurely attach the heel to the shoe.

Frofiit foregoing it follows that in improved rubber-heels admirably meet al requirements as to longevity, perfection in wear, resiliency and ability to prevent slipp I% desired the bead 13 may coalesce in a slanting portion 21 shown in the modified Figure 6. This will also provide a tread surface less than the bottom area of the heel, and will establish an even wear of the tread surface in continuous and extended use.

While the drawing shows several preferred embodiments of the invention various changes, alterations and departures can be applied as will be readily seen by those versed inwthis art. It is, therefore, not my intention of confining myself to the exact details of construction as shown, but to avail myself of such changes and modifications which fairly fall within the purview of the 2 invention as defined by the appended claims:

I claim: 1. A heel for shoes comprising a resilient member, a suction chamber in said member havin a deep portion and open at the bottom t ereof,'sa1d chamber having a convex top, a bead surrounding the mouth of said chamber, and an air chamber above said suction chamber and spaced therefrom, said air chamber having a concave bottom to correspond to the convex top of said suction chamber and exten beyond the heel portion equipped with said bead.

2. A heel for shoes comprising a resilient member, an air chamber in said member and open at the top, a suction chamber in said member and open at the bottom, said suction chamber and said air chamber being separated by a concave-convex partition wall, and a protruding tread portion surrounding the mouth of said suction chamber and underlying a deep portion of said air chamber. In witness whereof I aflix my signature.

CLARENCE W. SHAEFFER. 

